"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you" Thessalonians 3:16
A message from the Head
We have had a very busy, but great fortnight in school with the children.
Well done to all parents/carers who managed to come into school during our Parents’ Evening Week. We felt it important to have the children in, during the progress conversations. They should be aware of how they are performing in school, and what their targets are. These targets are monitored in class and where appropriate, they are challenged even further.
Our 'Make Some Noise’ against bullying during the Anti-Bullying week was a huge success. It helped the children reflect and talk about the importance of the message.
Wow, they did so well making their percussion instruments to make noise with, and even better making the noise! We reached over 120 decibels each day. I think I have to apologise to our neighbours!
You can now please begin to collect the sponsorship funds to put through Parent Pay, or send the cash into school in a named envelop.
Well done to Anning Y4, and Darwin Y3 for leading Collective Worship. The children enjoyed the part they played in setting school up for a great start to the day.
Feedback from the adults and children remain highly positive.
Network Rail came in to speak to the children on safety around train, the stations, rail lines and level crossings. It is quite worrying that many children believe the stunts they see on television or the cinema! Please always take the opportunity to explain to your child what they see on screen are purely for entertainment and does not happen in real life! You can find the presentation from Network Rail here
Lifting Young Voices Concert featuring Y5 and Y6
We are looking forward to the Lifting Young Voices Choir Concert at All Saints church next Tuesday 28th November.
We would encourage as many parents to attend as Year 5 and 6 have worked really hard over the term in their Music Curriculum to develop their singing skills through these songs and we expect to have all present for this celebration of their achievement. Singing and performing is a crucial component of the curriculum. This has been fully funded by All Saints Church.
The concert is free with a retiring collection for those who choose to donate afterwards and there is a cafe/bar available for hot/cold/alcoholic beverages and a shop selling Christmas cards for charity inside the main building.
Remembrance Day
Mrs Keaney talked to the children in Collective worship about Remembrance Day and why it is significant. We then had a 2 minute silence at 11 o’ clock. Mrs. Dasha Panajotovic did a beautiful display of poppies made by the children to mark the important event.
Children in Need Assembly
At the end of a very busy week, we all came dressed ready to raise funds for Children In Need. Our children are aware that there are many in need in Kingston and around the world. Thank you all for your support through your donations in Parent Pay. So far we have raised £194.00.
Malawi Assembly
Carol Webb, the Kingston outreach leader, to our Malawi partner school M’Khalapadzuwa, gave a presentation to the children about the joint project between our schools. She fed back to us how the children were excited to receive the work we sent over about saving the planet, and their individual note books we raised funds to buy for each child.
We learnt how enthusiastic the children are about their education and they run into school daily! The photo shows them gathered for Collective Worship outside under a tree. We would have loved to connect with them but only one member of staff can afford to have WhatsApp on the phone.
Faith Group, School Council and the other Ambassadors will be planning fundraising opportunities in the spring and summer terms.
World Toilet Day 2023
This week our RRS Ambassadors led our World Toilet Day assembly. This is an annual United Nations observance day (19th November) to tackle the global sanitation crisis. Our RRS Ambassadors raised awareness of the 3.5 billion people living without safe toilets and 2.2 billion people living without safe drinking water. They were keen to link this to Article 24: Every child has the right to the best possible health. Governments must provide good quality health care, clean water, nutritious food, and a clean environment and education on health and well-being so that children can stay healthy.
Our RRS Ambassadors reminded us that we should be thankful that we live in a country where our waste is taken away and our health, safety and dignity are protected. Toilets ensure dignity!
The hummingbird is the symbol of this year’s World Toilet Day because of an ancient story where she helps put out a great fire by carrying droplets of water in her beak. She is a powerful symbol of taking action – no matter how small – to tackle a big problem. Everyone can do something – however small – to help solve the sanitation crisis. We can be like the hummingbird! The more ‘hummingbirds’ there are, the bigger the impact.
Junior Mathematical Challenge
Some of our children have been working with Kingston Grammar School in their Maths Club after school.
These sessions prepared them to enter the national UK Junior Maths Challenge. This challenge encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency to make children think.
Congratulations to our Y5 and Y6 children who took part in this Challenge. Our children were proud to achieve either Bronze, Silver or Gold awards. Well done to all of them!
We are Friends Workshop
Year 4 had the pleasure of attending a workshop this week. They discussed qualities a good friend might have and how our bodies can help us identify what emotions we might be feeling. We are looking forward to our second session with Miss Gada from Achieving for Children, next week.
Rail Safety Assembly
This week Marcia and Andy from Network Rail came to speak to the children about Rail Safety. They reminded the children how to stay safe while travelling by train and also how to use a level crossing safely. The children enjoyed learning interesting rail facts. Did you know it takes the length of 20 Premier League football pitches for a train to stop!
Visited by a Local Artist
Year 4 were fortunate this week to be visited by Madeline Morrow, a local artist! We were told about how art has changed over the years and how Madeline started her own art career. We looked at some of Madeline's art and then we learnt about the eclipse skill to help us draw 3-D objects more accurately and gave it a try under Madeline's watch.
Anxiety Workshop
Year 5 attended an Anxiety Workshop with the borough's AfC Mental Health Support Team. The pupils learnt what stress and worry was, and discussed that it's normal for everyone to feel stressed or worried about different things at different points in their lives. The class looked at signs of anxiety, managing worry and practised different techniques to help calm themselves down. Their challenge before the next session is to practise one of their relaxing and grounding strategies twice a day!
Christmas Decorations Fun in the Hall
The whole school had a lot of fun making pine cone decorations ready for the Christmas Fayre at St John's Church on Saturday 25th November.
Booking music lessons with Kingston Music Service
Please see the link below to check lesson types, terms and conditions, instrument hire rules and other services.
To apply for all lessons in school please click the link below
Class Weekly Attendance for W/C 13 November
Y1 98.3%
Y2 97.7%
Y3 97.7%
Y4 98.7%
Y5 95.7%
Y6 96.0%
Class Weekly Attendance for W/C 6 November
Y1 96.6%
Y2 95%
Y3 99.3%
Y4 95.3%
Y5 94.0%
Y6 91.0%
Punctuality
The school gates open at 8:40am and close at 8:50am. We expect all children to be ready to start their early morning learning promptly at 8:45am.
We want to teach our children that punctuality is an extremely important and respectful life skill.
When the gates close at 8:50am, your child's lateness will be recorded. This will be monitored by the Local Authority's Educational Welfare Officer ("EWO").
Early morning work, between 8:45 and 9:00am is vital for your child's progress.
Please do not allow your child to cycle on Portland Road on the way to and from school as there is still traffic travelling down the road at this time of the morning
Forgotten items reminder
If your child has forgotten any items they need for school on a day, eg: lunch, water bottle, PE kit, wellies for forest school, etc... please leave them clearly labelled with your child's name and class in the plastic box outside the office and a member of staff will pass them over to your child before lunchtime.
Keeping children safe (Safeguarding)
Please find here an excellent Safeguarding Handbook for primary schools by the Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Team. Safeguarding—In Safe hands
The National Domestic Abuse Helpline
Continues to operate 24 hours a day including bank holidays & weekends. 0808 2000 247
Please remember if you have any concerns or questions regarding Safeguarding out of school hours follow the link.
Do not forget
No pets allowed on the school premises
No smoking or vaping on the school premises
Use of mobile is not permitted on the school premises
PSA
Class list is a great way to communicate with your school community. If you haven't signed up already please click the link below
3 ways to help St John's School
Please visit the Easy Fund Raising App to easily raise money for the School. Simply visit www.easyfundraising.org.uk, and select St John's School as your chosen charity.
We have raised £1267.38 so far and have 88 supporters! Every purchase made through easyfundraising means a donation to our PSA.
St John's Book List - Donate a book to celebrate birthdays, support our library, or buy class books. Please click below to go to our Amazon page
Stamptastic is the fastest way to name your kids' belongings. Use code KT1 2SG or click on the button below to earn donations for the PSA
You can keep up to date with all PSA events and read their latest newsletter on their page on the school website here.
Dates for your Diary
All dates appear on our school calendar on the school website. This includes school holiday dates, inset days, clubs, swimming and parent's evenings. You can find the calendar here: